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Friday, November 7, 2014

Sixth Circuit Upholds Same-Sex Marriage Bans

Ladies and gentlemen . . . we have a circuit split. Several federal court decisions have struck down same-sex marriage bans in states across our country. Yesterday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld same-sex marriage prohibition as constitutional. You can read the opinion here.

I have not had a chance to read the full opinion. The opening and closing seem long on rhetoric and short on legal analysis (presumably the "meat" is in the middle). The closing words:

When the courts do not
let the people resolve new social issues like this one, they perpetuate the idea that the heroes in
these change events are judges and lawyers. Better in this instance, we think, to allow change
through the customary political processes, in which the people, gay and straight alike, become
the heroes of their own stories by meeting each other not as adversaries in a court system but as
fellow citizens seeking to resolve a new social issue in a fair-minded way.

While I agree with that, I'm not sure it really addresses the underlying legal issue.

We now have a "circuit split" on this issue. Will SCOTUS take up same-sex marriage and decide this issue once and for all? After the Sixth Circuit's decision the odds just rose dramatically.

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Lawffice Space - Pennsylvania and Federal Labor & Employment Law Blog

Produced by Philip Miles, an attorney with McQuaide Blasko in State College, Pennsylvania. McQuaide Blasko also has offices in Hershey and Hollidaysburg. Mr. Miles works in the firms's Litigation and Labor & Employment Law practice groups, providing legal services to employers and employees relating to human resources, employment discrimination, and other employment law issues.